1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement for evaluating pulse generator signals which have various amplitudes and which are output by a pulse generator and for producing pulse signals from the pulse generator signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pulse signals are necessary for the operation of quite diverse apparatus. One example of the use of pulse signals is in a printer. In a printer, the point in time must be determined at which the printing of the character or the printing of a portion of the character is to be executed. Therefore, a pulse signal must be produced, occurring at that point in time, which must be fed to a control for releasing the printing mechanism. In order to produce such a pulse signal, a path generator or pulse generator is necessary which, for example, is arranged in parallel to the line to be printed and which outputs a signal along the line with each printing point, the signal being transformed into a pulse signal. Such a generator can be necessary, for example, in a series printer.
The pulse generator, for example, can consist of a glass tube in which marks are provided for each printing point. A light beam simultaneously impinges upon the glass tube alongside of the line and the light beam only enters the glass tube at the point of the marks. The light which enters is reflected in the tube and fed to photoconductors which produce an electrical signal from the light received. This signal, subsequently called the pulse generator signal, can then be converted into a pulse signal. Other embodiments of pulse generators are also possible.